Many of you probably don’t know this, but my deep love of homes and fixing them up actually comes from my parents. Growing up we were constantly moving, as my parents would improve and build equity in each home and move onto the next one. Now they’re “retired” and aren’t living in the houses they’re re-doing, but have been flipping houses in Duluth, MN. Today I get to share their most recent one with you, “The Hillcrest House”.

This cute little Duluth house had tons of potential, and within three months my parents bought, updated, and sold this house. They do almost all of the work themselves and my mom has great taste. Here are a few of their “before” and “afters”.

Exterior

On the front of the house it doesn’t look much different from when my parents bought the house. They did replace all of the windows but I didn’t have a good “before and after”.

In the back of the house they replaced one of the windows with a door and my dad built a new deck onto the house.

Entry

The entry was updated with lots of white paint, new flooring, and new lighting. Now it is warm and inviting rather than cold and dirty.

Living Room

On the entire main floor they installed laminate flooring and painted all of the walls. They also replaced all of the trim and all of the light fixtures. The paint color is Benjamin Moore “Edgecomb Grey” and most of the light fixtures were purchased at Home Depot.

Kitchen

In the kitchen my mom used General Finishes Gel Stain in “Java” to darken all of the cabinets **contains affiliate links** They also removed the decorative fencing above the cabinets and added new pulls which really modernized them. They finished off the kitchen with new appliances, a farmhouse sink, quartz countertops, and a new backsplash.

Dining Room

The dining room is where the added the door to the new deck. Between the flooring, lighting and paint it doesn’t even look like the same space anymore does it?!

Bathrooms

Both bathrooms got TOTAL overhauls. Now they are both bright, clean, neutral and gorgeous.

I can’t seem to find a “before” shot for this bathroom, but I promise it was equally as bad as the other bathroom. I love the dark grout with the subway tile, and that mirror with the rounded corners.

Bedrooms

All of the bedrooms got new windows, new flooring, new lighting, and fresh paint. They also updated all of the doors and trim. 

Basement

This basement got the same treatment as the rest of the house. My dad also drywalled the ceiling and updated the fireplace.

Didn’t they do amazing work on this house? Today when I talked with them they were back in Duluth, sanding down the wood floors of their next project! Hopefully I’ll get to share that with you down the road as well! Even if you’re not flipping houses I hope this inspired you and encouraged you to tackle a project in your house! It may not be a total overhaul, but you don’t have to live with a home you don’t love!

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